Elevator-door



B. WEXLER.

ELEVATOR DOOR.

APPLICATION 'FILED AUG-24. 1911.

Patented J 11116 14, 1921.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

'BENJAMIN WEXLER, OF BROOKLYN, NEW YORK, ASSIGNOR TO THE PEELLE COM- 7 PAN Y, A CORPORATION OF NEW YORK.

ELEVATOR-DOOR.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented June 14, 1921.

Application filed August 24, 1917. Serial No. 187,953.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, BENJAMIN WEXLER, a citizen of the United'States, residing at the borough of Brooklyn, city of New York, county of Kings, and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Elevator Doors, of which the following is a specification, reference being therein to the accompanying drawings, which form a part thereof.

My invention relates to elevator doors and more particularly to a type of fireproof doors having a rigid frame with a corrugated or other metal sheathing within said frame.

Fireproof doors made of wood, sheathed with metal, are sufiiciently rigid throughout, to resist displacement'under blows when. the door is closed; and under severe heat will not warp in a manner to cause the door to bind upon the side rails or tracks or to present an opening adjacent the sill or lintel through which flames may escape from or into an elevator shaft to or from the floor of a building. In a door' having a metal frame'carrying corrugated metal sheathing within same, which door is known generally as a corrugated metal door, the structure is sufficiently light to have a tendency to flex under blows or the expansion co-eificient in thedoor is sufficiently great to cause a warping of the doorin the event of fire.

To insure the proper degree of protection against fire by means of corrugated metal doors, it is necessary to provide braces extending vertically of the door intermediate the side bars of the frame, and to so construct these braces that they will cooperate with means carried by the wall of the elevator shaft or well in a manner to prevent the door bulging, inwardly of the shaft, intermediate the side bars, either from blows upon the door or as the result of high tem peratures upon either side of the door.

*' Such braces are generally known in the trade as binder bars. o

By my present invention, I provide an elevator door of the corrugated metal type wherein the binder bar structure is so formed as to minimize any "tendency toward the jammingof the door by reason of side swaying or sagging at either side thereof or from the expansion of the metal of the door under heatQ- This binder bar structure is so formed that when applied to the lower door it will support the door when in its lowermost position to produce what is known as a truckable door, whereby the stresses of a load passing from the sill of the doorway to an elevator car,rwill be transmitted to the well of the elevator shaft and thus relieve the supporting chains from any stresses beyond the predetermined load of the door structure. When this binder bar structure is applied to the upper door, as well as to the lower door, I utilize this structure to arrest downward movement of the upper door so that in the event of breakage of the suspension means connecting the two doors,neither door can fall within the well or shaft and the upper door cannot descend to the sill in a manner to subject the lower door, andthe supporting means therefor, to a sufficiently violent shock to displace both doors and cause them to drop within the shaft or well.

This structure will also have the eflect of facilitating the opening or closing of both doors and minimize any tendency toward the binding of the door by reason of side swaying thereof.

WVhile in the accompanying drawings, I have shown. this binder bar structure applied to both doors, a desirable factor of safety is presented in the door structure if it be applied to either door section, although, it is essential in order to include in a door what is known as a truckable feature, to provide such a mechanism at the sill of the door opening.

' The invention consists primarily in an elevator door embodying therein. a vertically slidable door section comprising a metal frame having a metal sheathing within same, a fitting secured to the elevator shaft below the sill of the door opening anti-friction rollers mounted and spaced apart in said fitting, a T-bar extending vertically between the horizontal frames of the door section, the flanges of said T-bar having a free running fit between said rollers, means projecting beyond said rollers between the flanges of said bar and'the door, and supports carried-by said fitting above said rollposition, and in such other novel features of construction and combination of parts as are hereinafter set forth and described, and more particularly pointed out in the claims hereto, appended.

Referring to the drawings,

Figure 1 is an elevation of a corrugated metal door embodying the binder structure of my invention on both sections thereof, said view being taken from within the elevator shaft or well, and each section being broken away to disclose the arrangement of parts at the sill and at the lintel of the door; 7

Fig. 2 is a vertical section adjacent the binder bar structure at the lintel of the door opening upon a larger scale Fig. 3 is a similar view adjacent the sill of the door opening;

Fig. 4f is a section jacent the sill; and

Fig. 5 is a view similar to Fig. a showing a modified form of the invention.

Like letters refer to like parts throughout the several views.

In the embodiment of the invention illustrated in the drawings, I have shown two counterbalanced. door sections a and b connected by means of a suitable suspension chain or cable 0 on opposite sides thereof. Each of these door sections .is composed of a rectangular frame composed. of T-bars, there being secured within this frame a suitable corrugated metal sheathing. The frame of each door section is provided with suitable shoes adapted. to cooperate with the tracks or rails d upon opposite sides of the door opening and extenc ing above and below the door opening to sufiiciently guide the door sections. This construction is old and well known in the art, and exemplifies the type of door to which my invention is particularly adapted. Mounted within the elevator shaft or well, immediately below the sill of the door opening is a fitting having mounted thereon anti-friction rollers f, the axes of which project inwardly of the shaft, said rollers being spaced apart to leave therequired clearance between same. The corrugations in a portion of the door a, are flattened, and secured to this flattened portion and to the top and bottom bars of the door frame by riveting or in any other desired manner is a 'lF-bar g the flanges of which are adaptedto pass between, and have a loose running fit with, the rollers f. Adjacent the rollers 7",.1' provide means proj ectthrough the door ading' beyond the periphery of said rollers re-.

spectively, and between the flanges of the binder bar 9 and; the metal sheathing of the door, which means will prevent the door intermediate the rails or tracks d springing inwardly of. the shaft away from the sill, either. when. the door is in the opened. or in the closedposition and at all points between these two positions. In the form of the invention shown in Figs. 1 to 4: this means comprises rollers h of greater diameter than the rollers 7 and mounted upon the pivot supporting said last named rollers respectively. The diameter of the roller h is such as to engage the web of the T-bar g with a loose running fit, and these rollers must be capable of rotation independently of said rollers f to compensate for the variance in the diameters of the rollers h and the rollers f. To relieve the pivot supporting the rollers f and it, I provide the fitting 0 with supports 2' arranged above said rollers upon opposite sides thereof so that when the door a is in the lowermost position, the overhung top bar thereof will engage said supports and sustain the load of any vehicles passing thereover to the elevator car.

The lower bar of the frame of the section a is cut away to clear the fitting e and the parts carried thereby, to facilitate the mounting of the door. The supports 2' when the door is opened, relieve the suspension chains from all stresses in excessof the weight of the door section, which weight is essential to properly counterbalance the upper door section Z).

The binder bar and sheathing may be made of stock rolled to form, or it may be built up in the manner shown in the drawings.

The construction of the upper door section Z) is similar to that of the section a heretofore described. A fitting e positioned adjacent the l-intel of the door opening carries rollers f and h" corresponding to the rollers f and 72.; with the binder bar 9 corresponding in construction and, function with binder bar 9.

The top bar of the door frame is cut away to facilitate the mounting ofthe binder bar in relation vto said rollers, and afford clearance for the supports 6 carried by the plate 0. A plate y is used to close this opening in the frame that when the door section is in the closed position, said plate willseat upon the supports 2' and limit theextent of the downward movement of this section.

In the modification shown in Fig. 5, the construction of the two door sections a and Z2 and their appurtenances is as heretofore described, this form of the invention differing from that shown in Figs. 1 to f in those details for retaining the binder bar in relation to the rollers, and in the construction and ar angement of the supports for limitinn the movement of the respective door sections. In this form of the invention, the fitting a is provided with oppositely disposed rectangular brackets in having rollers m mounted between said brackets respec-' tively and the fitting e.- The brackets is are preferably cast integrally with the fitting e and the upper edge ofsaidbrackets is eX- tended above the rollers m in a manner to receive the load of the door section and prevent its being applied to the said rollers.

The operation of the herein described elevator door is substantially as follows:- 7 Under normal circumstances, when the door is closed, the binder bars g-g will be positioned between each pair of rollers ff respectively with the rollers 72-h in substantial engagement-with the web of said binder bar. When the bars are in this position, it will be observed, any warping of the bar or tilting as the result of any dissimilar movements of the sides of the door, will have no binding action at the rollers f f or h-h' since there is only lineal engagement between said rollers and said binder bar. When opening or closing the door, the binder bars g-g move uponthe respective rollers ff and hh without any likelihood of there being such frictional resistance as will impede the free movement of the door. By using the rollers ff a fairly close fit between same and the flanges on the binder bar, may be provided, merely allowing clearance to compensate for expansion of the binder bar'itself under heat, which expansion will be veryslight. By using independently r0- tatable rollers h-h acting upon the under side of the flanges in the binder bar, as well as upon the web of said bar, the flanges of said bar will not only be held in proper relation to the rollers f-f but the web itself will be suitably guided. At the same time, engagement of the underside of the flange of said bar by frictional engagement'with said rollers hh will cause said roller to turn freely and avoid such binding action will interfere with the free movement of the door sections;

The. binder bars g-g' during the full movement of the door, as well as when the door is opened or closed, will remain in the operative relation to the rollers ff' and hk, thus preventing the movement of the door section away from the walls about'the door opening.

lVhen the door is opened tothe full extent, the top bar of thesection a will rest upon the supports i, with the upperv face of said bar substantially spanning the gap between the door sill and the elevator oar, thus permitting the passage of trucks to and from the car, as with the usual form of truckable door. Theload of such trucks will be sustained above the rollers ffhh' thus avoiding likelihood of the breakage of the pivots upon which said rollers are mounted. The supports z'i"upon the fittings ee' are merely emergency appliances, so that in the event of the breakage of the suspension means, the section 6 cannot drop beyond the point where the top bar will engage these bars.

It will be noted that the fittings 6-6 and the parts supported thereby are identical,

thus standardizing the fittings of all parts of doors made in accordance with the invention.

The operation in the form of the invention shown in Fig. 5 differs from that heretofore described merely in the omission of the anti-friction features afforded by the use of the rollers /i/l, the inwardly projecting arm of the brackets is performing the function of said rollers without, however, guarding against binding at this point.

It is not my intention to limit the invention to the precise details of construction shown in the accompanying drawings, it being apparent that such may be varied without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.

Having described the invention what I claim as new and desire to have protected by Letters Patent, is

1. An elevator door embodying therein a vertically slidable door section comprising a metal frame having a metal sheathing within same, a fitting secured to the elevator shaft below'the sill of the door opening. anti-friction rollers mounted and spaced apart in said fitting, a T-bar extending vertically between the horizontal bars of the frame of said door section, the flanges of said T-bar having a free running fit between said rollers, means projecting beyond said rollers between the flanges of said T-bar and the door, and suppo ts carried by said fitting above said rollers, adapted to engage the top frame of said door section and sustain a load upon said door section when it is in the fully open position.

2. An elevator door embodying therein a vertically slidable door section, comprising a metal frame having a metal sheathing within same, a fitting secured to the elevator shaft below the sill of the door opening, antir"riction rollers mounted and spaced apart in said fitting, a T-bar extending vertically between the horizontal bars of the frame of the door section, the flanges of said'T-bar having a free running fit between said rollers, and anti-friction rollers mounted upon axes concentric with said first named anti-friction rollers, said last mined rollers being of a diameter to project beyond the first named rollers between the flanges of said T-bar and the door section.

3. An elevator door embodying therein a vertically slidable door section comprising a metal frame having a metal sheath within same, a fitting secured to theelevmor shaft below the sill or" the door opening, anti.- friotion rollers mounted and spaced apart in said fitting, a T-bar extending vertically between the horizontal bars of the frame of the door section, the flanges of said T-bar having a free running fit between said rollers, anti-friction rollers mounted upon axes concentric with said first named antifriction rollers, said last named rollers being of a diameter to project beyond the first named iollers between the flanges of said T-bar and the door section, and supports on said fitting projecting within the elevator shaft below and adj acent H1O sill of the door opening and above and on opposite sides of said rollers, whereby when the door section is fully open, the top bar thereof will engage said supports and sustain a load upon said door section. 7

4. An elevator door embodying therein two counterbalanced door sections movable vertically in opposite directions in the same plane, flexible connections between said door sections, tracks or rails guiding the movement of said door sections respectively, fittings secured to the elevator shaft below the sill and above the lintel of the door opening respectively, each of said fittings having anti-friction rollers mounted and spaced apart therein, a Tbar extending vertically between the horizontal frames of each of said door sections, the flanges of said T-bars respectively having a free running fit between the roll rs adjacent the sill and adjacent the lintel of the door opening, means carried by said fittings respectively projecting beyond said rollers between the flanges of said bar and the door, and supports carried by said fittings respectively above said rollers, adapted to engage the top bars of the frame of said section when it is in the fully open position and limit the downward movement of the upper door section.

5. An elevator door embodying therein two counterbalanced door sections movable vertically in opposite directions in the plane, flexible connections between said door sections, tracks or rails guiding the movement of said door sections respectively, fittings secured to the elevator shaft below the sill and above the lintel of the door opening, respectively, each of said fittings having anti-friction rollers mounted and spaced apart therein, a T-bar extending vertically between the horizontal frames of each of said door sections, the flanges of said T-bars respectively having a free running fit between the rollers adjacent the sill and adjacent the lintel of the door opening, and anti-friction rollers mounted upon each of said fittings upon axes concentric with said first named anti-friction rollers respectively, said last named rollers being of a diameter to projectbeyond said first named rollers between the flanges of each of said T-bars and its door section.

6. An elevator door embodying therein two counterbalanced door sections movable vertically in opposite directions in the same plane, flexible connections between said door sections, tracks or rails guiding the movement of said door sections respectively, fittings secured to the elevator shaft below the sill and above the lintel of the door opening, respectively, each of said fittings having anti-friction rollers mounted and spaced apart therein, a T-bar extending vertically between the horizontal frames of each of .said door sections, the flanges of said T-bars respectively having a free running fit between the rollers adjacent the sill and adj acent the lintel of the door opening, anti-friction rollers mounted upon each of said fittings upon axes concentric with said first named anti-friction rollers respectively, said last named rollers being of a diameter to project beyond said first named rollers between the flanges of each of said T-bars and its door section, and supports on each of said fittings projecting respectively within the elevator shaft below and adjacent the sill of the door opening, and above and adjacent the lintel of the door opening, said supports being positioned above and on opposite sides of said rollers, whereby, when the door is in the fully open position, the supports adjacent the sill of the door opening will engage the top bar of the frame of the lower door section and sustain the load thereon, and whereby the supports upon the fitting dj acent the lintel of the door will limit the dmvnward movement of the upper door section.

7. An elevatordoor embodying therein a vertically slidablc door section comprising a metal frame having a metal sheathing within same, a T bar extending vertically between the horizontal bars of the frame of said door section, a fitting secured to the elevator shaft below the sill of the door opening and rollers carried by said fitting projecting between the flanges of said T-bar and the door whereby said door will be held against displacement from the door opening and binding between said T-bar and its cooperating means is prevented.

In witness whereof, I hereunto aflix my signature, in the presence of two subscribing witnesses, this 23rd day of August, 1917.

BENJAMIN WEXLER.

Witnesses F. T. VVENTWOR'JH, CLAiuon FnANoK. 

